Cost of Raising Children

In a recent CNN/Money article, Melanie Hicken reports that it will cost a middle class family an estimated $241,080 to raise a child from birth through age 18 years. This estimate does not include the cost of college. The findings are based on data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and show a 3% increase over 2011. The USDA tracks costs for items such as housing, transportation, food, child care, and others.

The article is accompanied by an interactive tool which allows the user to examine change in expenses over time and by year, region of the country and class.

Read more:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/14/pf/cost-children/index.html
http://money.cnn.com/interactive/pf/cost-of-children/?sr=fb081513costraisekid5p/gallery/pf/2013/08/14/cost-of-children/index.html?sr=fb081513costchildren

Americans Spend Less On Groceries

Lam Thuy Vo, writing for NPR, noted that Americans spend less money on groceries today than they spent 30 years ago. In 1982, citizens spent more than 12% of their money on groceries, compared to less than 9% today.  Why the decrease in spending?  Walter Falcon, a Stanford economist, attributes the trend to a “major restructuring in poultry, pork, and beef industries that has allowed efficiencies and brought down the cost.”  

Most notably, the cost of pork chops, chicken legs, butter, lettuce, and steak – adjusted for inflation – all fell by more than 30%.  For instance in 1982, a pound of pork chops (in 2012 dollars) cost Americans $6.00, but today, the price is only $3.72 per pound.  At the grocery store Americans also spend their money in a similar fashion, with two exceptions.  As to be expected, the share of money going towards meat goods fell from 31.3% in 1982 to 21.5% today, and while citizens spent 11.6% of their funds on processed foods and sweets in 1982, today that percentage has almost doubled to 22.9%. 

3 in 4 Americans Feel College is Too Expensive

In a recent survey, the Pew Research Center presented the American public with this statement: "College costs in general are such that most people can afford to pay for a college education." Overwhelmingly, respondents disagreed with the statement.  75% did not agree, and only 22% felt that college costs are affordable.  Despite this response, the rapidly rising cost of college tuition has not swayed parents' feelings on the importance of a college education.  94% of parents want their children to go to college, even though 57% of Americans feel that colleges fail to offer students a valuable education that is on par with the high costs.  Only 5% of the public feel that college is of "excellent" value to students.  Much more respondents fell in the middle-ground, with 77% saying that college was of "only fair" to "good" value.  Additionally, though, it seems that college graduates are happy with their decision to enroll.  86% of graduates believe their investment in tuition was beneficial, and American Community Survey data supports this belief.  In 2009, the median income for college graduates was $46,931, whereas the median income for those with only a high school diploma was $27,381. 

62 Percent of Parents Provide Financial Assistance to Their 19- to 22-Year-Old Children

On May 3^rd, USA Today focused on a University of Michigan study regarding the proportion of parents who provide financial assistance to their 19- to 22-year-old children.  The lead author of the study, Patrick Wightman, found that 62% of young adults collect funds from their parents.  About 42% of parents assist with bills, 35% pay for a portion of tuition, and 23% help with vehicle costs.  Additionally, a little more than one in five parents contribute to their children’s rent and 11% provide their kids with loans.  82 % of wealthier parents (those making $99,910 or more a year) supported their children with some form of financial assistance, compared to 47% of lower income parents (those making less than $37,274).  However, regardless of wealth, parents who provided money to their children sent an equal share – about one tenth – of their income.